Torta Rustica and Tax Day Anniversary

It was today, 23 years ago that I met my future husband.  23 years ago I stood in his sister's family room enjoying a wonderful business luncheon they were hosting.  So much has happened in 23 years, I am in amazement at what we have been through (and I'm not just referring to my ever changing hair color either) and so thankful for all the blessings that we have experienced together.

Check out this stylish couple!
circa 1993, The Ritz Carlton Resort, Rancho Mirage, California

On that fateful day, they prepared an incredible menu of Torta Rustica, Arnold Palmer drinks and warm chocolate chip cookies.

Through the years, we have appreciated various deli styles of this Italian classic on our "meeting" anniversary. We decided this year we are going to try and create our own homemade version.  This weekend is forecasting another "Spring blizzard", so it's a good opportunity to stay home and enjoy old memories and new recipes.

Torta Rustica
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
2/3 cup roasted red sweet peppers, drained and cut into thin strips
1 Tbl. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (15 ounce) carton ricotta cheese
1 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 cup refrigerated basil pesto or classic pesto sauce
3/4 cup shredded fontina or gruyere cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3 Tbl. all-purpose flour
4 ounces thinly sliced salami and/or pepperoni, cut into thin strips
1 Tbl. water
1 pkg. (17.3 ounces) Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed (2 sheets)

Place drained artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers on paper towels;  set aside to drain while preparing filling.

For filling, in a large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion;  cook and stir about 3 minutes or until tender.  Stir in garlic; cook about 1 minute or until fragrant.  Add spinach; cook for 2 to 3 minutes more or until liquid is evaporated.  Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.  Transfer to a colander.  When spinach is cool enough to handle, use your hands to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.  Transfer spinach mixture to a medium bowl.  Stir in ricotta, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, one of the eggs, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and the black pepper.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.  Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square.  Press the pastry into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan, leaving the excess pastry draped over the sides of the pan.  Brush the pastry sheet with other egg beaten with water.

Spread pesto sauce over bottom crust in pan.  Spread ricotta mixture over pesto.  In a small bowl combine fontina cheese, the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and the flour.  Sprinkle half of the fontina mixture over ricotta mixture.  Top with layers of salami/pepperoni, roasted peppers, and artichoke hearts.  Sprinkle the remaining fontina mixture over artichokes.

Unfold the remaining pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.  Roll the remaining pastry sheet into a 10-inch square.  Place the pastry sheet over the filling.  Trim off any excess pastry and discard or save for another use.  Fold the edge of the top pastry over the bottom pastry and press to seal.  Brush the pastry with the egg mixture.

Place the springform pan on a foil lined shallow-sided baking sheet.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.  Let the torta cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes.  Remove torta from pan, set on serving platter and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

** We enjoyed our Torta Rustica with a mixed green salad, honey mustard vinaigrette with toasted pine nuts, Pinot Noir (and warm chocolate chip cookies of course) Cheers!  

One Year Ago: Cambozola Platter
Two Years Ago: Carrot Cupcakes

The Finale!!

Suzie's Pumpkin Bread

I needed some cheering up today. Almost a year has gone by since we have seen our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.  It was Thanksgiving last year when spent a very memorable long weekend with the three of them and they announced they were having twins.

We miss them so much and look forward to the day we can see their entire, newly expanded family.  Our son sent us photos of the kids at their pumpkin patch festival they went to last weekend.  They are getting so much bigger and it just reminds me of how fast our two girls have grown up.  I remember taking them to their first pumpkin patch with their Papa.

Big sister and new little brother.

Big sister and new little sister.

I needed to do something to take up my time and keep my mind off all these beautiful blessings of ours that are growing older right before our eyes. Baking was going to be my plan of attack to help pass the time today.

I received this pumpkin bread recipe about 20 years ago from a lady I worked with.  Back in the day I worked the retail world for awhile to earn some extra money, as my future husband and I were just starting out.  It was an upscale boutique and the manager's name was Susan.  She always made trays and trays of these to set out every holiday season.  It made the husbands very happy (and occupied them) as their ladies spent a whole lot of money in one afternoon.  We even had a few celebrities shop there and they also loved these breads.

Find the largest bowl you have.

Lined up for some love'n.

Once I tried these little pieces of heaven, I could not stop eating them through my work schedule.  I think I gained 5 pounds that month - not a good thing when you are trying to portray a high-end image in their clothing...just as well, since I wasn't a fashion design major anyway.  I brought loaves of these to everyone last Thanksgiving. Friends and family all devoured these - especially our granddaughter, she loves Nana Suzie's Pumpking Bread.

Suzie's Pumpkin Bread

(7) cups All Purpose Flour
(6) cups White Granulated Sugar
4 tsp. Baking Soda
4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
(2) cups Canola or Vegetable Oil
6 Eggs
1-1/3 cup Water
(1) 29 ounce Canned Pumpkin (like used for pumpkin pies)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Get the largest bowl you can possible find - this makes a huge amount of batter for 14 mini loaves or 6 regular loaf size pans.

Spray your loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray (spray bottom and sides of pans).

Mix all wet ingredients well with hand held mixer.  In a separate bowl mix and blend all the dry ingredients.  Add one cup of the flour mixture at a time to the wet mixture, making sure that it is well blended after each cup has been added.

Pour 1 cup of the batter mixture in each mini-loaf pan.  (I bake 7 loaves at a time for even baking and let them bake on a large sheet pan for easy transportation to and from the oven).

Bake 45-60 minutes.

Pumpkin Pancakes Morning

It's pumpkin week here for my little teen pumpkins.  We are on to the countdown before Halloween arrives. I don't know anyone who loves fall more than my girls, especially the younger one (also known as Baby B, as she was born one minute after the first one).

I think my favorite part of the this season is bringing out all their special decorations they have made over the years.  I love seeing them every fall, pulling them carefully out of their hibernation from being stored the past year and reliving the memories of when they were made.

Many fond fall memories of Halloweens past.

My mom still has the custom painted, paper mache pumpkin that I made in kindergarten.  The top was cut off and all the kids each hand tied their black ribbons through the top to make a handle and be used for trick-or-treating.  To this day, my mom still uses that pumpkin to display the candy she gives out to today's children at her front door.

This morning Baby B, my Saturday morning buddy woke up with a craving for her usual pancakes. I have made them hundreds of times for her and could probably do it blind folded by now.  However, this time she threw a spin on it....she wanted pumpkin pancakes.  I have never made pumpkin pancakes in my life.  I know my pumpkin bread, pumpkin bars and pumpkin spice cookies.  Not a problem, I got this....Now, there is a long running debate in our household on pancakes (soft and fluffy vs. thin and small).  My husband was out golfing this morning taking advantage of the warm weather, so Baby B and I had the majority vote: soft and fluffy it was!!  I am curious, what is your vote??

I pulled out my trusty Bisquick and got creating. I played with the spice drawer and kept adding a little here and a touch there.  The end result was so delicious, and easy.  This recipe may need to be added to our annual fall decorating weekend traditions.

Homemade decorations and our new semi-homemade pancakes.

Pumpkin Pancakes
Inspired by Baby B

2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix
1-1/4 cups Milk
2 Eggs
1/4 cup Sour Cream
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice (add more depending on your spice level)
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
2 Tbl. Canola Oil (or Vegetable Oil)

Mix all ingredients until well blended.
Pour slightly less than 1/4 cupful onto hot, greased griddle or frying pan.
Cook until edges are dry and middle starts to slightly bubble.  Turn and cook until golden.

Serve with butter and fresh maple syrup.

Chicken Tortilla Soup For The Weary

"There is no rest for the weary." I looked up this phrase, because I love to know where and how idioms came about (not to mention that I have really been feeling it lately) and here is what one definition said:

Prov. Even people who are worn-out must continue to work. (Describes a situation in which a tired person has to do more work.).  Isn't this the same definition, next to the word MOM in the dictionary??

It has been over 2 weeks since my last post and I feel like I have been gone for months.  My friend Toni is kicking my - - - in the number of her posts this month and I am feeling very behind. Oh, not to worry though, I have been photographing outings and recipes and still driving my family crazy during the past few weeks. I just have not had one moment to sit down and write.  We have been go, go, go!!!

It truly has been a whirlwind couple of weeks, starting with high school volleyball tournament last weekend. As I volunteered at the beginning of the season to be the team parent, I jumped on the bus with the team (promising to not embarrass my children of course) and away we went.  The team was victorious and fought on to take first place - I was so proud of each and every one of them.  Their high school team as of today is undefeated and they have one more game to go for the season to keep their record - I am quite certain I am more nervous about it than they are.

One of our volleyball stars.

  My stress level is already starting to peak with the upcoming birthdays and holidays.  My husband's is mid-December, then we have Christmas and of course I had to pick the end of December to have twins....so, holidays tend to raise my tension level just a bit. I am already trying to figure out who will be getting what gifts and when, deciding what is the best for a Christmas vs. Birthday present.  We have also been blessed this year with our 2 additional twin grandbabies, giving is a total of 3 amazing grandchildren now.  I am making all the grandkids blankets this year, so trying to find the perfect material and patterns for their sweet little personalities.  Let us also not forget the deadline of trying to get packages out in the mail to our families, so I don't have to pay the exorbitant "last minute because I didn't get my act together in enough time mailing fees".

Then there's also my very dear friend Felicia coming to visit me next month.  I want everything perfect for her so she can be spoiled during her stay with us.  She has done so much for me and my family that I want to make her time here special and memorable.  I have no doubt that adult beverages will be involved in those memories - she has already put in a request for my husband's Cosmos.  Stay tuned for postings during that week...should be very interesting to say the least.

To add some fun into the mix, my work is beyond crazy, busy!  I no sooner get to work and it's time to go home.  My days are rapidly going by with all the daily tasks, schedules, clients, paper trails and e-mails. Not complaining though, I would take it that way over being bored, any day!!

Look closely and you can see the other volleyball star being funny!
Now you know why every parent needs a margarita during road trip weekends.

My husband had also been begging me to do a road trip and get away for the weekend.  We tossed around many ideas and learned that Mt. Rushmore was only 5-1/2 hours from us.  I jumped online and did my tourist research because I am such a planner like that.  It turns out that Keystone, South Dakota basically shuts down October 1st every year after their tourist season.  Perfect!!  Got a great hotel for an amazing rate, no crowds at the National Monument and no waiting at restaurants and the weather couldn't have been better for this time of year. 

The girls loved all the history at Mt. Rushmore and we were really taken back by the beauty of the monument. We took in every moment there and learned everything that it stood for, the sculptor and the stories behind it.  Of course, the movie fan that I am, I had to stake out every location sight from where they filmed National Treasure 2 there.  

The locals taking over the highway.

The wildlife before, during and after the visit there was the best though.  Our daughters really had a great time seeing all these amazing creatures in their natural environment yet completely okay being around tourists too.  We even had time to see the Crazy Horse Memorial,  Black Hills Ghost Town and The Flintstones Resort in Custer, SD (yes, you read that correctly). http://www.flintstonesbedrockcity.com/

Our drive home took us through quite the storm from South Dakota, through Wyoming and even into Colorado.  It was cold, rainy and extremely windy.  We were all tired and needed a nice bowl of hearty soup for our chilled bones, to end our perfect weekend.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Inspired by Chicken Enchilada Soup (on realmomkitchen.com )at http://realmomkitchen.com/463/chicken-enchilada-soup-and-my-top-10-soup-recipes/

(1) 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
(1) 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
(1) 10 ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped yellow, green or red bell pepper
(1) 10 ounce can enchilada sauce (mild)
(1) 10.75 ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1-1/2 cups milk
(1) cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese (4 ounces)
(2) cooked chicken breasts, diced

Mix beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, pepper and chicken in a large pot.  Whisk together enchilada sauce soup and milk and pour over soup mixture in pot.  Stir well.

Bring to a low boil over medium heat, then cover and  turn to low and let simmer for about an hour.

Serve with the pepper jack cheese,  sour cream, sliced avocado and tortilla strips.

This is what Theo thought of us leaving him for the weekend.

Needless to say, he wasn't very happy when we returned and didn't mind letting us know.